Consumers should rotate the tires on their car according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. On the writer’s car this would be every 12,000 kilometers or 7,500 miles. Usually the tires are moved from the front to the back and the back to the front. Always follow the car manufacturers instructions regarding how you rotate your tires. You can find this information in the manual for your car. In some cases a garage may not rotate your tires if they are running smoothly. Or if thy are also wearing evenly. For example this is the first time the writer has heard of this situation. Readers would welcome your comments on this subject.
Why Front to Back Tire Rotation
It turns out that most tires if not all tires have a direction of rotation on them. This is designed to provide better traction and better water clearance to avoid what is known as hydro planning. If you move your tires from one side of the car to the other, you are actually changing the direction of rotation. Your tires will wear improperly and not deliver the traction that they are designed to provide.
If in doubt about what to do, always rotate by moving the front tires to the rear and the rear tires to the front. Never move them from one side to the other.
Why Rotate Your Tires
Tires are rotated to even out the wear on the tires and gain the maximum use out of the tire. If a tire is wearing abnormally you may want to have a front end alignment completed. When the tires are being rotated, tire balancing should also be completed as a part of the job. This will ensure a smooth ride and even wear on the tire. Finally the tire pressure is checked and the tires inspected for safety.
While it might be considered expensive to have the tires balanced and rotated, it is definitely a safer situation for all drivers. If the tires are inspected, balanced, the proper inflation is checked and they are all wearing the same amount.
Cost of Tire Rotation
Several tire dealers will include tire rotation on your car free of charge for as long as you own the car. As a result, this is a good deal especially when you consider tire rotation can cost as much as $20 to $25 per tire. Buying tires on sale with tire rotation and balancing included is an excellent deal.
The writer always buys tires with this kind of deal in mind and one other attribute. We travel a great deal by car. So I also want a dealer that is national in scope and in fact is in several countries that we routinely take our car to. This allows us to have our tires checked, balanced and rotated all for free when we go to this particular national tire dealer. Every time I have this done, I am saving approximately $100. Which can be as much as $400 over the life of the tire. If you do not travel long distances for extended periods of time, then it might not be as important to you as it is for us.